I'll Call Him Red
by ShadowofLugia
Summary: Red is bested in battle...but it's not a fair one. To stay on Mt. Silver would be stupid. To leave and start off new...now there's an idea. Have you ever wondered what happens to Red when he leaves Mt. Silver? He goes on a journey like his first...but with new people, old people and a girl who he holds in a high regard...
1. Chapter 1

**Oh man, if I start writing this…I'll be juggling 3 stories at one time. Urp.**

**But, it's what I love to do, so here goes.**

**I noticed the extreme lack of RedxPlatinum (Platinum Berlitz, or Dawn. I choose Platinum. Her outfit is the best out of all of theirs. Plus Platinum is one of my favorite Pokemon games) so, I decided to write this. Question: does anyone know the proper shipping term for Red (RED, not Ash, mind you) and Platinum? Because I really have no idea.**

**Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, nor do I own Pokemon. It would be awesome to though.**

**I hope you like! And don't be surprised if I don't update in a while, I'm sorry, starting next week I'll be handling school, and juggling 2 other stories. So, sorry if it isn't updated in a while. Understand this: I write for pleasure. I can't update whenever you want one.**

Red's POV

I had been sitting up on this mountain for years, and not a single worthy opponent had braved the waters or the cold to battle me here. Several easily beaten trainers had come up here, only to have their Eevee-lutions crushed by my Pikachu in one hit. The ones who had managed to knock down my Lapras or my Venusaur by sheer luck, were put down by my Charizard. It was a sad life; well, not so much sad as just lonely and repetitive.

As I was lost in thought, staring out from the peak, I heard the light crunch of sneakers against snow.

"I'm here to challenge you." A feminine voice demanded.

I turned around. A girl with light brown hair tied into pigtails and wearing a pair of short overalls stared back at me, her eyes full of determination and force.

"I hope you know it won't end well." I warned her.

"For me it will." she snapped back.

"Okay, Pikachu, you're up!" He hopped off my shoulder and into the still-falling snow, as the early light of the day danced off the snow and cast beams of light into the sky.

The girl pondered herself for a moment. I was going to enjoy this; not many people thought things through while they battled me. After several minutes she reached down to her belt and unhooked a Pokeball, of which I was aching to see what was inside. "Arcanine!"

I ran through Pikachu's attacks in my head. Quick Attack, Volt Tackle, Iron Tail, Thunderbolt. Without putting much thought into it, I shouted over the gently falling snow, "Iron Tail!"

Pikachu's tails glinted in the warm rays of the sun, momentarily turning into a razor-sharp iron tail, then bringing it down hard on Arcanine. It grunted against the attack, trying to hold it's ground. Obviously the girl had raised her Pokemon well.

"Now it's my turn! Arcanine, you know what to do! Flamethrower!" Arcanine heaved a great roar, and let loose a spiral of vibrant flames straight at Pikachu. It hit dead-on. Pikachu staggered and almost lost his footing, but he stood his ground.

"Volt Tackle." Pikachu took a few steps back, then clenched his hands into fists, erupting in a haze of electricity. He started to gain momentum, and slammed his body against Arcanine. I could see that it did moderate damage, and Arcanine was shuddering. That meant it was paralyzed.

The girl paused to think. I could almost read her mind: if she used a Paralyz Heal, I could just Volt Tackle again and her Arcanine would be in the same situation as it was now. If she didn't, though, she would be taking a great risk and it might cost her the match. Her Arcanine appeared to have great faith in her, though, and nodded somberly when she yelled, "Rock Climb!"

The Arcanine dug in it's heels, then with a mighty roar several blunt rocks erupted from the ground, and hurtled straight at Pikachu. It hit with a sickening crunch. Pikachu slowly managed to move the rocks away from his body, but looked dazed and confused. Every few steps he fell over, or trip over a nonexistent rock.

Pikachu was in no condition to battle, and it would be cruel to make him fight any more. "Venusaur, you're up!"

Venusaur glared at Arcanine, who with a defiant roar stared down my Venusaur. "Now use Sludge Bomb!"

A purple, drippy mass was sent hurtling at Arcanine, who doubled over from the effect. A thin, purplish hue enveloped Arcanine. It was poisoned now too; all the better.

"You can do it Arcanine! Just hang in there and use Flamethrower!" The same intense, burning beam shot straight at Venusaur. Venusaur staggered and had a few scorch marks on him-he had a burn, now. The girl grunted, but smiled brightly and nuzzled her Arcanine. Venusaur lumbered around, the effects of a Burn obvious-every few seconds he would shudder and the burns would grow red-hot. After a few minutes of this, Venusaur finally collapsed into the think layer of snow, the burns finally quenched but melting strange circles into the pristine layer of fine snow.

"Snorlax! Come on!" Reliable Snorlax, the one I could always count on.

The girl paused before seeing her Arcanine suffering and called him back, only to replace him with a Blastoise. "Use Hydro Cannon!"

The Hydro Cannon spiraled in a graceful jet, driving into Snorlax, who emitted a cry but otherwise didn't look hurt at all.

"Blizzard!" Because Blizzard has a 100% chance of hitting during a Hailstorm, I always thought it was a handy move to have. The snow picked up, and the small, cotton-like droplets slowly grew in size until they were dangerous chunks of ice. Snorlax sent the attack hurtling at Blastoise, where it hit straight and true. It dug into Blastoise. I could see it drop to the ground, it's teeth ground tight. It's fists were clenched as it struggled to hold on, and it looked badly hurt when the attack finally stopped.

"Now, Blastoise, use Blizzard on that Snorlax!" It had the same effect on Snorlax, but because of the damage it took from Hydro Cannon it fainted.

"Go! Lapras!" Another Blizzard and Blastoise was out of the match.

"Salamence! Com on out!" It emitted a shriek that pierced the heavens. Lapras cowered in fear, and I recognized it as the Intimidate ability.

"Salamence! Draco Meteor!" Salamence raised it's head to the sky and it turned dark, then suddenly multicolored comets rained down on Lapras, who struggled to remain standing. I exhaled deeply. This girl would be the first one I would be able to exercise my true power to since I last fought Blue.

Lapras survived the attack, but just barely. "Psychic!" The air around Salamence grew distorted and it's eyes glazed over; then with a few violent shakes Lapras pulled out of the Salamence's mind. It struggled to remain it's ground, and both of them shook violently. Lapras was nearly gone; I could feel it. The girl obviously knew her Salamence was done too, as they both fainted at the same time moments later.

We threw out our Pokeballs at the same time. "Meganium!"

"Charizard!"

I pondered for a moment, listing Charizard's attacks in my head. Air Slash, Flare Blitz, Blast Burn, and Dragon Pulse. 3 out of 4 could be used against the Meganium. "Blast Burn!"

Like a super-charged Flamethrower, a beam of fiery energy shot into the Meganium, who emitted several cries before finally falling down. It slowly and shakily stood up.

"Frenzy Plant!" Several roots erupted from the ground below Charizard and wrapped around him, holding him in a choke hold and draining him of energy. When the attack finished, I could see what happened: somehow the girl had combined Leech Seed and Frenzy Plant. I watched in horror as the Meganium's legs stopped shaking and Charizard wobbled.

"Dragon Pulse!" A purplish light, channeled into the form of a beam, erupted from Charizard's gaping mouth and drove right into the Meganium, who wobbled dangerously. Charizard, the effects of Leech Seed finally getting to him, fainted just as Meganium came crashing down into the think blanket of snow.

"Latias! You're up!"

"Blastoise!"

Latias…how in Kanto did this girl manage to capture such a rare Pokemon? She was driving me to my full power. I liked it. "Flash Cannon!" A grey orb, in which floating purple particles writhed around in it, was sent straight into Latias. It roared shrilly, then with the same wicked glint in her eyes as her Trainer, did what I thought was a highly advanced Psychic. Blastoise's eyes glazed over, and he turned pink. He shook violently and dropped into the snow, his slip on reality loosening. Latias pulled out, and Blastoise shuddered, his cannons emitting weak jets of water in a feeble attempt to attack.

"Latias disabled all Water- and Ice-type attacks!" The girl shouted smugly. I was starting to panic. "Don't lose your head, Red, come on; your Pokemon have never let you down before." With a determined glint in my eyes, I shouted, "Focus Blast!" A brown orb filled with pure strength and power hurtled at speeds hard to see at Latias, who failed to dodge the attack and slowly fainted. Blastoise grunted as the girl sent out her sixth-and last-Pokemon. "Kyogre!"

If I thought her having Latias was impressive, Kyogre was something new altogether. One of the main creators of the world as we know it was being controlled by a mere 11-year-old. I ground my teeth viciously.

"Kyogre, use Water Spout!" Kyogre, out of the hole located on the top of it's head, emitted a powerful jet of water at Blastoise, where it ground against his shell until he collapsed, much to my horror.

"Pikachu, come on! We can do this! Use Volt Tackle!" Sensing the urgency, he super-charged the Volt Tackle, leaving Kyogre hurt and exhausted.

"Kyogre, Sheer Cold." The girl was suddenly somber and not over-excited, like she was throughout the entire battle.

Not expecting it to hit, I scoffed, but uncrossed my arms as soon as I heard the telltale whistle of the wind, followed by a blinding cold that left you paralyzed. You could do nothing but watch, in horror, as you Pokemon slowly fainted, like it always would. Pikachu was enveloped in a thick mist and was peppered by sharp, ice-covered rocks. It fainted moments after.

I had lost.

Impossible, but I had lost.

The girl sensed my distraught mood and turned to leave, but in a shaky voice I called out, "Wait."

"What?" She answered curiously, cautiously taking a step forward.

I turned to face her. There must have been something in my eyes, because she suddenly looked panicked as I rose to my full height, and not just a kneeling position like I was in the entire time. She was nearly half my height.

"You've won, and I congratulate you…" I started, not sure how to finish. She nodded.

"You've got things to do." It wasn't a question.

I nodded somberly, and she walked down the same snowy path as she had walked down before, her footprints from earlier covered by the ever-falling snow. I watched as she exited the mountaintop and re-entered the cave.

I walked over to my campsite and noticed something she had dropped. It was a flier; about a different region. I picked it up and flipped through it, disgusted at first. It-and nothing could-compare to Kanto's natural beauty. This new region was filled with nothing but towns and scattered houses, so different from the region I called home.

After a while, though, I found myself thinking about the region. A new adventure? A new experience? A way to train myself so this wouldn't ever happen again? Soon, everyone would be coming up here, and there were people who only traveled here just to see if I was a ghost or not. I'd heard rumors that if a trainer happened to beat me, my soul would move on, or something like that.

"Time to give the people what they want." I stood up, stretched my arms into the sky, and released Charizard. I have a strange habit of boarding Pokemon: when I fly on them, I jump off something first, then ride them. I jumped off the cliff just as a few more brave souls ventured out into the snow. It would give them something to think about. I tipped my cap to them as I rode Charizard to that new region, and let them speculate as Mary and Oak showed up. Everyone but Oak looked shocked, who nodded somberly as I left the region in favor of a way to better myself.

Platinum's POV

"I finally have a Pokemon!" I exhaled as I left Professor Rowan's lab, followed closely by Lucas, the Professor's assistant. He jumped ahead of me, then looked back at me.

"Do you want me to show you the Pokemon Center?" he asked.

"No, I'm okay-"

"Great! Follow me!"

I reluctantly followed him to the Pokemon Center, where he showed me where I could heal my Pokemon. Then he told me I should meet him on Route 202.

I nodded as he exited out of the glass automatic doors to the Pokemon Center. "I should probably visit mom, first, though."

I started down the path back to Twinleaf Town, alternating between running and skipping. The walk wasn't long, because I jumped the ledges several times to get there faster. I ran into Twinleaf Town, then nearly ran into mom as she took some boxes out back.

"Oh, hey, what are you doing here?" she asked, escorting me inside.

"I wanted to tell you that as of now, I am officially a Pokemon trainer!"

She smiled warmly. "That's wonderful. Here, I forgot to give this to you. It's a journal."

I gratefully accepted it and dropped it into my bag. "Thanks, mom. Love you!" I hugged her then ran out the door, this time taking the long way. The ledges were okay to jump over, it was just scary-looking to climb them…

I nearly stepped on a Bidoof as I was walking through the tall grass. It, being angry of course, attacked me. I sent out Piplup.

"Pound, Piplup!" Piplup walked over and bopped Bidoof on the head. I smiled to myself, already becoming attached to my Piplup.

A huge shadow swooped overhead, and I swore I heard a voice calling from above-but I dismissed it as pre-journey jitters.

Suddenly a colossal _thud_ rippled through the grass. I fell to my knees, clutching Piplup.

"Charizard, I need you to use Flamethrower." a calm voice demanded behind me.

I looked up, and ducked down again-a fiery blast of flames was richoteing right above my head. I looked up once the heat dissolved; the Bidoof was barbecued.

"Pi…Piplup?" Piplup asked, looking up at me with worried eyes.

"I don't know what just happened, but I don't like it. That kid, or whoever he was, totally stole that battle from you!" I told him, frowning. "Hey! Just who do you think you are?" I turned to the boy, who looked a little more than mad.

I got up slowly, taking in every detail of his face: from his curved brow line to his set jaw. I froze at his eyes. They were blood red, the color of flame. They sparkled with amusement at my rage.

"This _kid_ just saved you." he snapped back.

"I didn't need saving!" I shouted at him, pointing a finger at him. I wasn't even sure he was listening. "You almost _killed _me with your Charizard!"

"But I didn't, did I? And I only came here to train, not to listen to the whiny whims of some kid who just started her journey! If it weren't for my Pokemon, I would be back in Kanto!"

I narrowed my eyes angrily at him. He was really starting to annoy me. "So why aren't you then, Mr. Perfect?"

"Because! I had to leave! If I went back, people would think I'm even more of a ghost or an illusion than I am now!"

"And how do I know you're NOT a ghost?" I was saying it just to tick him off, and wipe that smug smirk off his face.

"Do I look like a ghost to you?"

I seriously considered it. His skin was pale, but bits of snow clung to his vest and hat. His jeans were dirty and ripped in places, and his sneakers were worn with the markings of age. His hair was messy-long and black, and looked like it hadn't been brushed in a while-and his shirt had loose threads trailing off it, probably caught on a door handle at some point in time. I took in every detail of his body, too-calves and thighs lean from walking, arms slightly muscled from pushing, and the general effects of time and growing up too fast evident on his thin frame. "No." I admitted honestly

"Fine." He turned away.

"Oh, by the way, you're not going to get any stronger if you fight Bidoof. They're as weak as they come."

He turned his head to look at me. "I'll keep that in mind. And do you happen to know of any high places I can jump off of?"

"Sinnoh's not well known for it's hills; in fact, it's a pretty flat region-"

"Great. Well, bye." He flung a leg over one side of his Charizard, who looked at him puzzlingly. He just frowned, and they both took off.

A young boy ran up to me. "Was that the ghost of Red? You know, his spirit moved on after Lyra beat him?"

"Lyra?"

"Oh, she's this super strong trainer from Johto. She's the champion and everything. Well, anyway, she beat him and if Red ever got beat in battle he could move on, that's why he never talks-"

"But he just talked to me. Several times, actually."

"-ANYWAY, he supposedly never talks 'cause he's just Red's spirit and everyone thinks he died on Mount Silver or something. Some girl and boy just ran through here asking about him, saying this was the first time they'd be able to see Red in a long time."

A girl with long brown hair and a boy with spiky, orange-yellow hair suddenly ran up to me and shoved the young boy out of the way. They looked to be the same age as Red.

"HAVE YOU SEEN A BOY COME THROUGH HERE?" The girl shouted, excited.

"You know, rides a Charizard, red eyes, pale, sort of quiet?" The boy explained.

"Er-yeah, he just left-"

"BLUE, WE MISSED HIM! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE WAITED TO SEE RED GET OFF THAT GLORIFIED HEAP OF ROCKS AND ASSOCIATE WITH SOCIETY?"

The boy addressed as Blue mimicked the girl. "OH NO, LET'S GO FIND HIM!1!1 YAY, LEAF, WE'RE GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!"

The girl addressed as Leaf smacked Blue. He cradled his arm in his hand, then limply waved at me. I slowly nodded.

Yup, this was definitely going to be fun.

**A/N: Updated. This is the revised edition of the first chapter, and I hope everyone enjoys it.**


	2. They Try So Hard

**So here is chapter 2! I wasn't expecting the turnout from the last chapter I had, 5 reviews so quickly! And my thanks go to AnimeQueen1260 for the shipping name! It was killing me, not knowing. **

**Disclaimer: I don't and never will, own Pokemon. I WANT TO SO BADLY THOUGH. :'(**

**OH ARCEUS it's so hard juggling so many stories, especially with school right around the corner. You want to know what a good place to write is? A bathroom, at night. It's quiet and dark.**

**So here is the next chapter! Enter Red!**

Red's POV

"Charizard, land."

The ground rumbled when Charizard hit the asphalt of a large city. I looked for a sign, and came up victorious; apparently this busy town was known as Jubilife City.

Several small children came marching by, all of them eyeing me with jealousy. A girl, who looked younger than the rest, ran up to me, looking at my Charizard with interest. She reminded me of that girl…Platinum? that I met, her eyes brimming full of young innocence and knowledge. I pushed my hat up with my thumb and made my eyes as kind as possible, then waved to her. She grinned a toothy smile and I smiled back.

I leaned against my Charizard and breathed in the air. It was different from Mt. Silver, more new…but with deep secrets, old mysteries mixed in with it.

I dropped my gaze again. Staying on top of the mountain for so many years made you…bad with people. I felt strange talking to Platinum, but she seemed like a genuine person.

"Ah! Watch it!" someone told me. A teenage-looking girl had tripped on my shoe.

She faltered when she took a good look at me. I was used to it; what I liked about Platinum was that she didn't melt when she saw my eyes. They were a sensitive topic.

"My…my bad." I tipped the brim of my hat at her with my thumb, flashing her an eye. I could see the chills on her back from here.

All my life, I trained to be the best. From the moment I met Blue, to becoming champion, to spending my life on Mt. Silver…to losing to that girl.

The last thing I ever really wanted was to be champion. If you were champion, you were always going to be the one to beat. I knew it was going to happen someday…just not so soon.

I denied that she would beat me at the time, only to reassure myself. In truth, I knew that that girl would. I just acted like I didn't.

Sometimes when I closed my eyes, I could see her cold glare. I knew I had built a reputation for being that recluse that lived on top of a mountain, always kicking other's dreams down the side of it.

Blue-and I don't know how I forgot her until now-Leaf would know that I lost to someone, and hold me in a lower regard because of it.

Out of the blue, a Pokemon that vaguely resembled Pidgeot landed next to me. "Howdy, Red!"

I looked up. "Hey, Leaf."

She hopped off, then sat down next to me. "I heard."

I shook my head. "Hasn't everybody?"

She snorted. "You know, Red, it's not that big a deal. You're just worried about it because you're the one who actually lost. Oh, and where'd Blue go?"

"Blue? He came here too?"

"Yeah. We thought you could use a good-old-fashioned 'Stop-being-such-a-baby' speech from Blue, since he kind of put the patent on it."

This time, a real Pidgeot landed on the other side of me, knocking down a sign in the process. "Red! You finally got down from there!"

Blue hopped off, then jumped around for a little. Leaf just gave him an are-you-an-idiot glare until he paused and, finally, sat down.

"So! Now all of Kanto and Johto and Hoenn and Sinnoh and that new region, Unova knows you're a failure!"

"Blue! I told you not to do that!"

"Oops…but it's true!"

Leaf got up and kicked him, then sat back down. "Are we here to cheer up Red or make him feel bad?"

"Eh…a little bit of both?"

Leaf buried her head in her knees, then mumbled something about Blue being a lost case. Then she looked back up at me. "So! We're in Sinnoh. I caught myself a Staraptor. Blue brought his Pidgeot. You have your Charizard. I'm hungry. This conversation is getting boring. Who wants to go find food?"

I stood up. "Sure. But this time, Blue, don't bring your own fork. It makes you look like a crazy killer stalking us."

"I know. Why do you think I did it? It psyches you out, that's why!"

"Blue…" Leaf started. Then she dropped it and punched my shoulder. "We're arguing just like the good old days, right?"

"If by the good old days you mean sleeping in a bunch of stranger's houses, making fun of Team Rocket and avoiding being killed by wild Pokemon then I say all right!" Blue muttered sarcastically.

Leaf walked over to him and got in his face, which he hated. "What was that?"

"Ha…nothing…"

"Hm. That's what I thought."

Charizard snorted, spilling black soot all over my hair, turning it's jet-black appearance slightly darker. I rubbed my hand against it, trying to dust off the soot.

Blue took one look at me and nearly lost it. "Ha! Loser!"

"BLUE!" Leaf shouted. Then she walked over to him, sat on his shoulders and pulled his hair. Blue jumped up and started running around, screaming something.

Leaf laughed like it was the most fun she had ever had. "Yay! Ride, Rapidash, ride!"

I reached for Blue's collar and yanked it, putting their little Rapidash ride to a stop.

"Leaf…I think you have anger issues…" Blue told her.

"I wouldn't have anger issues if you would just be a normal human being!"

"So it begins anew." I muttered.

Pikachu weaved his way underneath my hat, then popped up with it on his head. Only Pikachu was allowed to touch my hat. You know, until Leaf stole it on a couple of occasions.

Several people looked at our little group, some laughing, others thinking it was a comedy act and clapping. I grabbed their arms and marched off.

"Ow, Red! Maybe you do have some muscle on those scrawny arms of yours!"

"Blue…" Leaf warned, bopping him on the head with her free hand.

Blue whined the whole way, about both how he wanted to carry his fork and about Leaf and her man-strength.

I stopped in front of a building, then released Leaf and Blue. We all stepped inside.

"I'm hungry…" Blue whined. Leaf stared him down until he shrank back and retreated to a quiet corner, munching on a fingernail to keep his mind occupied.

"So…what was it like?" Leaf asked.

"Well…when that girl beat me…I felt almost dead inside. Something was off that day…normally, if someone makes it that far, they're pushed to extremes and sometimes they just call off the battle. But that day, I couldn't think at all. It was strange. She beat me so easily, I didn't know if I could ever face you guys again, much less the world. But it would be stupid to stay on Mt. Silver, so I left and came here, the region farthest from Kanto. Unova would be my ideal location but it just wasn't my style."

"Red…that's not what I asked. Although interesting…you know, I like this region. A lot. Silver can stay in Johto, I'm staying here with you. I want to see what the gyms are like!" That was classic Leaf. Explaining why I was wrong and then changing the subject entirely.

"Me…too…" Blue agreed in between nail bites. Then he stood up, still munching away.

"Er…hi!" Someone greeted me. It sounded like a girl. "Do you need something?"

I frowned, then gestured at the girl while looking at Leaf. "You may."

"No, we'll have you know that Red here does not, in fact, want to go on a walk with you, because he is suffering through major emotional trauma because he has been beaten by a bratty girl and has no time to tell you how nice your fake ruby-encrusted Pokemon hairbrush is, and how bouncy it makes your hair look." Leaf answered.

"Um…okay…" she backed away, eyeing all three of us suspiciously. I noticed that she stood quite close to the phone, like we were going to steal something.

"And we're not crazy criminals, either!" Blue added.

"Eep!" the girl squealed quietly, then picked up the phone and began to dial the number.

"Blue, you just HAD to do that?" I asked him, truly wondering what went on inside his head.

"Okay, enough. I think she called the Pokemon Police, so we have like four seconds to run. So RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, MEN!" Leaf shouted.

Easy for Leaf to say. She was out the door in two.

Blue ran ahead, followed by me.

We stopped and hid behind a dumpster, each of us holding our breath. Pikachu stared at Blue and shook his head.

"Come on! It was a joke!"

Leaf whacked Blue, then told him to shut up.

I definitely wasn't expecting Platinum to come walking down the alleyway.

"Hi, Red!" she greeted warmly. I grabbed her arm and pulled her down, shushing her.

"Ow! What the Arceus?" she whispered.

Leaf gave her a brief recap of the events leading up to our predicament and then eyed her suspiciously. "Wait…just who are you? And why do you know Red?"

"Well…I was battling…and then he scorched a Bidoof…and Piplup ate a hallucigenic berry…you know what? I forgot. Here."

She handed me a watch-like device that acted as a calculator, a berry map, a pedometer, a drawing device and a phone. "It's a Poketch. Here. I have a bunch of extra ones…" she rifled through her bag and produced a blue and green one. "Here!"

"Dibs on blue!" Leaf called.

"Green!" Blue snatched the green Poketch.

I twisted mine around on my wrist; it was red of course.

Platinum attached a yellow one to her wrist. "Now we can all be friends!"

Leaf was skeptical at first but agreed after some coaxing and begging and, okay, horrible dancing from me. "Fine. But Red's like my older brother, so no advances, okay?"

"Sure! And Blue?"

"Fine with me."

"Okay…time to go to Oreburgh City. I hear there's a gym there." I told the group, I guess we were traveling together now. "But…how will Platinum get there?"

She looked downtrodden but nodded. "I'll walk, if I have to…"

Blue, who seemed to have developed a bit of a crush on her, shook his head vigorously. "No! you can ride…um…Pidgeot, with me!"

"Yay! Thanks so much!" Platinum gave him a light hug and he looked a bit dazed.

Leaf shook her head, slapping me and Blue with her overly long brown hair. I brought my hand down on her hat, stopping her from doing it more. She twitched and grabbed my arm, trying to bite my hand.

"You…um…are a colorful bunch…but Red, you seem to come alive when you're around them. You should do it more often." Platinum observed.

I nodded. "They're hard to handle sometimes, but they've been my best friends since we were little. Leaf's like my little sister, except she schemes like there's no tomorrow…Blue is like my clueless but determined brother…you, I think of you as a new neighbor that you want to meet but just can't muster up the courage to talk to them, with the exception of the talking to part. You're like my new neighbor, in a good way."

"Thanks?"

"The Pokemon Police are here! Run!" Leaf took off, shooting down the alley like a bullet. Platinum ran next to her, with Blue and me trailing behind.

"Oh, for Mew's sake!" Leaf grabbed Blue's arm and Platinum grabbed mine, both of them having us nearly tripping on our faces in the process. We found our Pokemon, sleeping.

Leaf literally leaped onto Staraptor, slapping it's face lightly so as to wake it up but not be irritable. I nudged Charizard. He opened one eye sleepily and shook his head, trying to wake himself up.

Blue shook Pidgeot, who looked at him irritably but nodded. He offered his hand to Platinum, who took it and climbed on behind him.

"Look! There they are, stealing those Pokemon!"

Our Pokemon looked just as shocked as we did, and they shook their heads, saying something, when they were interrupted by the Pokemon Police.

"And look! It's a Berlitz!"

I was getting sick of this. I switched from friendly to cold; and hopped off.

I made sure my hat was pulled over my eyes and stood in front of them.

"For the last time," I started, reaching for my belt and wrapping a hand around Snorlax's Pokeball, "We are not thieves."

I chucked Snorlax at the crowd, the sheer size providing a distraction I ran to Charizard, jumped on top, then flew upwards. "Snorlax, return!" I hooked his Pokeball on my belt.

"Oh Arceus…now my family thinks I'm a juvenile who's associated with a wandering group of thieves…I could tell them different, but they would say I was brainwashed or something like that. You guys are all pretty nice, it was that a simple mistake. It was that girl's fault for thinking that." Platinum told us.

Leaf smiled at Platinum. "Yeah, I think you'll fit in just fine."

Platinum…she was something special. She was liked by everybody, had a great personality, and had a lot of natural beauty like Leaf.

"So why is your last name so important?" Blue asked Platinum.

She placed her head in her hand. "I knew it was going to happen. Well, it's not my last name, it's my family. See, I'm a part of the House of Berlitz, a 200-year-old and financially powerful family line." she flinched, waiting for the worst.

"So?" Leaf asked.

"So? Normally, people are shocked. Normally, people ask for favors, or money, or things like that."

I laughed at her worrying. "Platinum, that may have been other people, but we don't care about what your family is, or how much money you have. See, it matters what you're like. What you want to do." I reassured her.

She smiled. "Well…thanks."

Blue looked down and pointed. "What's going on down there?"

It looked like two people harassing an old man and a boy. "Charizard, let's land and check out the situation."

Charizard skidded to a halt on the grass, the stooped down so I could slide off. I was followed by Leaf, then Blue. Platinum stood back and observed. Before we went off, we made ourselves look intimidating, something we were experts at. I lowered the brim of my hat, so my eyes were bathed in shadow; Leaf did the same thing but looked down slightly and crossed her arms, and Blue's hair cast a shadow across his face in the dying light. For good measure he placed his hands in his pockets.

"What's going on?" I asked quietly.

"Urp…Professor, aren't those the Pokemon thieves from the other side of Jubilife?" the younger boy asked.

"I believe so…it looks like a Berlitz really is traveling with them…even so, we don't have any Pokemon with us so they are not a threat." the older man reassured.

Leaf looked up and walked over to the boy. "I believe my friend just asked what's going on."

"Um…" Leaf looked up, tilted her hat back, and smiled. Our last resort: Leaf's ability to charm her way out of anything.

The boy fell for it right away. "Well, these two men were harassing Professor Rowan and telling him things that made no sense. Then they threatened him, and then you showed up and made things a little more scary."

Platinum scooted up next to me. "Hey, Lucas!"

He looked over at Platinum in shock. "What are you doing with these guys?"

She smiled at the Lucas boy. "It was a simple misunderstanding, what happened there. See, they were just standing in the lobby of the Poketch building, and the girl there thought they were going to steal a Poketch or something like that." Platinum explained.

"And how do we know that for sure?" the man Lucas had called Professor Rowan asked.

I looked up. "I'm Red, from Pallet Town. This is Blue. And this girl, she's Leaf. We traveled through Kanto together, putting a stop to Team Rocket, and then we did the same in Johto."

"Whoa! So you're the champion, Red? For real?" Lucas asked me.

I nodded. "Where did they go?"

Professor Rowan pointed ahead.

We all ran as fast as we could to the alley where he pointed, until Blue pointed out something. "Where's Platinum?"

"I've been right behind you the whole time." she answered.

"Is that them?" Leaf asked. In classic Leaf fashion, she ran ahead and jumped on them, pounding away.

"Is she always like that?" Platinum asked me over Leaf's shouting.

I chuckled and nodded. "Yep, that's our Leaf, right there."

Leaf finished beating the two men in spacesuits and kicked one in the ribs. He groaned and mumbled something about it not being worth it.

"I think he's alive…" Blue noticed.

Leaf dusted herself off, not a scratch on her. "Well, that's good enough for me."

Platinum's POV

We had set up camp on the outskirts of Jubilife, near a pond. Leaf amazed me, Blue made me wonder and Red…well, Red was Red. He was nice but a little unsettling.

Blue was furiously pounding away at some sticks, trying to produce flame from them. It seemed he had forgotten about Charizard's ability to produce flame.

Leaf was sitting against a tree, snoring away. And Red was sitting on top of a tree, staring into the dark night sky.

I stared up at him and made my way over to the trunk, slowly edging my way up until I eventually dragged myself onto the branch Red was sitting on.

"Hey, Red. I greeted quietly. He nodded but gave no other signs of acknowledging my presence.

"Looking for something?" I asked him. He chuckled, then slowly turned around.

"No…it's just it's so quiet up here. It's a perfect place to think." he answered. "I've been doing a lot, lately. I'm not depressed, about losing. It's just…she overpowered me so easily…I'm not sure if I was at my best or not."

"Maybe she was just simply stronger than you." I offered.

He shook his head. "No, that can't be. I'm as strong as they come."

I placed a hand on his back and slowly climbed down, almost stepping on Leaf in the process.

"Hey Platinum, can I have some help here?" Blue asked me, clearly confused.

"Sure…" I pointed to Charizard. "Just ask him to sneeze for you."

I unzipped the tent I was supposed to sleep in. It was rather small, but better than the others; they were just sleeping outside like that. I was terrified of bug-types. I couldn't handle sleeping out there, uncovered.

Red unzipped the tent from outside, then climbed in next to me. "So…you've got the luxury tent."

I nodded. "Thanks so much. You know, you don't have to put up with me." I told him.

He waved his hand. "It's okay. It's always good to help a friend."

It felt nice, actually being accepted for who you were and not what your family was. That's why I always strived towards the top: so I would be remembered as something other than a Berlitz.

Viv's POV

I whistled, rocking back and forth on the tree branch I was sitting on. My red hair kept sliding into my face, despite having my favorite headband to tuck the stray locks back. I did have my Sceptile and Hydreigon to keep me company, not to mention my Dusknoir. He often scared people, but once you got to know him he was sweet. That is, sweet to me. Most of my Pokemon were scary-looking, and it surprised people that I would have prefer having scary and strange over cute and cuddly. Everything started off cute and cuddly, but I picked the ones that would grow up into the powerful, misconceived and little-known Pokemon we all took for granted.

I leaped from branch to branch, followed closely by my Pokemon. I didn't believe in keeping them locked up in Pokeballs. If they were your friends, they were with you.

I paused and hopped down, slightly crackling some of the leaves and twigs I had landed on. I sat down on a log and re-laced my boots, making sure they were tight.

A campfire sparkled like a beacon of light in the darkness ahead. I tried to contain my horror and ran to it, almost tripping over Metagross. Carracosta noticed my panic and Hydro Pumped the fire away. I kicked some ashes over the embers for good measure.

Then I noticed it was a campsite. It made me even more upset that people would just leave their fires unattended like that. Did they ever think about the Pokemon?

I skipped over to the pond and undid my boots, then dipped them underwater. I had Sceptile use Hone Claws on them to scratch the mud off. Out of all my Pokemon, I had been with Sceptile the longest, then Metagross, Dusknoir, Hydreigon, Carracosta, and lastly my shiny Abomasnow, who I had just recently caught but was already growing fond of. He seemed to enjoy my company too.

"What? Why'd the fire go out?" Someone-a boy-asked. Something rustled in the grass, and that's when I noticed the sleeping bags.

I scooted farther down the pond and looked down, then had Abomasnow use Icy Wind to polish up my boots. I pulled them on and darted behind a tree.

"Blue, shut up." another person-a girl-said. A light went off in the tent, and the sides unzipped.

"What's…going on?" another girl asked sleepily.

I chuckled to myself.

The last sleeping bag rustled and a tall boy with pale skin, black hair and red eyes looked up. "What's happening?"

The boy who had been addressed as Blue stood up. "Look, the fire's out and it's all wet, like someone doused the flame. But nothing else is wet."

The boy with the red eyes stood up and kneeled next to the pile of wood. "Looks like a Pokemon did this," he paused. "A trainer, maybe. You can tell, the ashes are kicked into place."

_Well, fudge. _I began my descent up the tree I was hiding behind.

"Yeah, Red's right…there's a small-a very faint, but still there-trail, and it stops at the pond over there. We can follow the wet footprints." The girl from the sleeping bag and not the tent told them.

I climbed faster. Sceptile jumped ahead of me, and I took his hand, helping every one up. The ones that needed help, like Carracosta, Metagross and Abomasnow, not the ones that could fly or close to it, like Hydreigon, Dusknoir and Sceptile.

Once everyone was up I leapt to the next branch, keeping a steady pace. It was fine until the girl from the tent looked up and pointed to me. "There's someone!"

I didn't expect the boy named Red to be such a good climber. I jumped from branch to branch, occasionally jumping higher into a tree, until I was cornered by Red. He stared me down in what I suppose was supposed to intimidating, but when you've lived the life I have, it doesn't bother you much.

He jumped on me and my instincts kicked in. I was almost half-Pokemon, so I was much better at wrestling. I ended up victorious and sat on his stomach, holding his arms above his head.

"Do you have any business with me?" I asked him, giving him my best death glare.

He looked unfazed. "Yes. Now let me go, and come with me, because we don't appreciate people who crash our campfire party." He did something I had never seen before: he jumped up and brought his arm down, taking me by surprise so now I was in the position he was in earlier.

"Fine," I grumbled.

I didn't bother going back the way I came, I just landed on my feet on top of a hefty pile of leaves that broke my fall. Advantages of living in forests your whole life: having reflexes like a Glameow.

Sceptile jumped down and caught Carracosta and Metagross. Abomasnow leapt down and created an icy ridge for him to slide on so he wouldn't get hurt.

"You don't keep your Pokemon inside Pokeballs?" The boy named Red asked me.

"Of course not. All my Pokemon like me, and they're my friends. I don't want to keep them locked inside a box or inside a Pokeball. To me, that's cruel and unusual punishment." I answered. My Pokemon nodded, agreeing with every word I said.

"So…you keep more than six Pokemon with you?"

I snorted at the very idea. "Ha! No, of course not! I would like to, but rivalry would break out and we already have a pretty close-knit family."

"Ah…I see…here's our camp." Red gestured to the area surrounding the camp fire I had put out.

The girl from the sleeping bag stomped over to me, looking furious. "Easy, Leaf." The girl from the tent placed a hand on Leaf's shoulder, her eyes full of worry.

Leaf calmed down a bit and took a deep breath. "Please, explain why you felt the need to destroy our campfire. And how you found our camp in the first place."

"Well," I started, "I was in the area. I just got back from Lake Acuity, and I wanted to see how my forests were doing."

"Go on," Leaf told me.

"I went to the big house, and made some Old Gateaus. Then I ran as fast as I could here, because I wanted to go to Jubilife. I was hopping around the trees, just whistling and minding my own business, and I took a rest. Then I went back at it, and I saw your unattended fire. And I thought, who does that? What would happen to the Pokemon if the fire spread? So I had Carracosta-" I pointed him out "-use Hydro Cannon. Then I went to wash my boots in the little pond, everyone woke up, I climbed the trees, wrestled with this Red guy, and won at first, but lost in the end." I finished.

"Sounds…fun." Leaf mumbled.

The boy who everyone referred to as Blue nodded. "She seems okay. Anyone who has that much love and respect for Pokemon is a friend of mine."

The girl from the tent looked at Blue and whispered something. I leaned against a tree, just wanting to run away.

"Red, can she travel with us?" The girl from the tent asked Red.

Red looked at me, then nodded. "Seems fine. I mean, if she's okay with it."

I was about to agree when I stopped. "Do my Pokemon have to stay in Pokeballs?" I knew my Pokemon shook their heads, disliking the very thought.

Red looked at the ground, then scratched the back of his head. "No, I guess not."

I grinned. "Then I'm in."

"Hey, what's your name, anyway?" The girl from the tent asked me.

Just because I grew up with Pokemon doesn't mean I don't know my name. "It's Vivienne, but you can just call me Viv for short. I'm an expert in Sinnoh's land, because I traveled all of it by foot. I'm also good at identifying maps, breeding Pokemon, making a Pokemon more friendly fast and climbing trees." I answered.

"Great. So can we all go back to sleep now?" Leaf complained.

Blue shook his head. "Well, we're already awake so we might as well just pack up our things and go."

Red nodded. He seemed to be the group's leader. "Okay. And Viv, may I ask what all of your Pokemon are? Because I'm not familiar with any of them."

I stood back and pointed them out in order. "Sceptile, Metagross, Dusknoir, Hydreigon, Carracosta, and Abomasnow. Two of them are from Unova."

"Wow, you traveled that far by yourself?" The girl from the tent asked.

"Nah, I made friends with a group of Lapras and they gave me a quick ride over."

"Yeah, I think you'll do good with us. Between your ability to make friends with every Pokemon, there's also the fact you're an expert on maps and all of the regions, plus you are a good Pokemon Breeder. You're going to be a valuable asset to our team." Red told me.

Leaf's POV

I was starting to like that Viv girl already. She managed to tackle down Red? Now that was no easy feat. And there was the fact she was like a walking Pokemon encyclopedia for breeding. And she was pretty fast on her feet, too, I noticed. So…she was strong, smart and quick. Like a junior version of me!

Still…I thought it was pretty nice of Red to let her come with us. I had my doubts but she really was good with Pokemon. It turns out that she's lived with Pokemon the majority of her life. Originally, she was from Hoenn, which is where she got her Sceptile, then her Metagross. Then she traveled here, and befriended Dusknoir. She stayed here a while and then made her way to Unova, where she met Hydreigon and Carracosta, and they decided to travel with her. Then she hitched a ride back on a Gorebyss, who she made good friends with but couldn't travel with her as she traveled on land. She came back to this region and, hearing myths about the Pokemon known as Uxie, went to Lake Acuity to investigate. While there she met her Abomasnow, which happens to be shiny.

By the 'big house', Viv meant the Old Chateau-an abandoned house with lots of urban legends surrounding it. She wasn't scared of anything, and I respected that.

I felt bad for Red, though; we came here for him and all we'd done is traveling. But knowing Red, traveling took his mind off things and made him feel more relaxed than usual. We still had to get to Oreburgh. Viv was pointing the way.

Red's POV

I'm glad we added Viv to our little group, she was good with Pokemon, had a GPS system inside her brain and knew all of the Pokemon we were seeing. I wanted to see her battle, though. I knew her Pokemon were strong. You don't just buy moves like Hydro Pump, your Pokemon perfects them when they're strong enough.

Traveling took my mind off of why I really came here and made me feel like a kid again, walking down Route 2 and going through Viridian Forest with Leaf and Blue. I was never going to admit that though, to anyone, although I was sure Leaf suspected me of thinking as such. She knew me, inside and out.

Platinum…I still had mixed feelings with her. I knew she was a friend, but not like Leaf. Leaf was a…BEST friend, I guess you could call it. Platinum was more like a friend-you-want-to-get-to-know-better.

"We're here!" Viv shouted, pointing at a town dug into the ground.

"Finally! The first Gym!" Leaf shouted.

"Museum of mining is where I'll be!" Platinum shouted, taking off with the other girls.

Blue and I shared a knowing look. "Just like the good old days."

**A/N: Yes, I made my own character. It's not illegal. I took her concept idea from Yellow's design, so think of a long ponytail like hers, except no straw hat. And change her shoes to boots. And her hair isn't yellow, it's ginger. Anyway, you get the idea.**

**I tried to make it focus around Red more. YES, Blue and Leaf finally show up. I invented some 'rivalry' between the two. More like a love/hate but mostly hate on Leaf's side and...god knows what Blue's thinking about. **

**A lot of explanations are in this chapter, and more will come in the future, but until then, read this, it should keep you busy. I'm working on the battles, too, you guys, so hold on. There shall be plenty of them in the future.**

**And I know this chapter is long, but I worked all weekend on it and added a TON of stuff and took out a TON of stuff, so here's the finished piece. If you like it, great. If you hate it, fine. And sorry about the lack of shipping, this is a really important chapter to the story, with a lot of new characters, so just read it and you'll understand the first chapter. **

**Anyway, Happy Nurse Joy Appreciation Day! Every August 20, every year. I invented the holiday. We forget how much Nurse Joy does for us. She heals our Pokemon, for FREE. FREE HEALTH CARE. YOU MUST LOVE NURSE JOY. And I seriously am thinking about moving to the Nintendo Store in NYC. THE ENTIRE BOTTOM IS DEDICATED TO POKEMON. THEY HAVE A TABLE WITH GAMEBOYS HOOKED UP TO EACH OTHER. IT'S POKEMON RED AND BLUE, YOU CAN BATTLE WITH WHATEVER POKEMON YOU WANT, I SAW IT AND I WAS LIKE Squeeeee!**

**Sorry about my ranting, I was just excited. I hope you like this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so here's the next and third chapter. ****Disclaimer- I have never owned Pokemon.**

**I recently was cleaning out an old dollhouse of mine, to give to my little 5-year-old cousin, and came across a Darkrai TCG tin, and a Chimchar card holder. I don't know why I used the Darkrai one as a hot tub. I was like 7. So I ran out of room in the Darkrai TCG tin pretty fast. Now my albums just look really weird because whole regions are missing (I organize my card albums by region. Don't judge.)**

**So here we go!**

Red's POV

I was NOT happy when I learned that the Gym leader was out somewhere in the mines.

It didn't look like Leaf was too happy, either. She marched up to the glass doors and kicked them, but it only scuffed the glass a bit.

Blue huffed angrily and crossed his arms. "In Kanto and Johto, this never happened. For the love of Mew…"

I kicked a stray pebble back onto the dirt lining the road. This whole town-sorry, city-was grey and brown. Not a single patch of grass or flower in sight.

Platinum marched up to us, furious. "The museum's closed!"

Viv just wanted to check out the mine, saying she befriended a Rhyperior and wanted to see it. "Not enough room for it," She explained when Blue asked why it wasn't on her team.

Everyone started yelling, their voices overlapping each other until I thought my head would spin off. I covered my ears and walked away. It always took a while for them to quit group grumbling.

Finally, after a grand total of 15 minutes, they stopped and started to venture into the mine. I crossed my arms and followed them.

We paused at the entrance. It was huge and dark, while the distant echoes of metal on rock further intimidating our little adventure group. Finally, Viv took the first step and we all followed nervously.

Viv and Leaf had entered a heated argument about the mine. Leaf said it was annoying and dark, Viv said it was essential for the city's power and a natural wonder.

Viv finally gave up. "Okay, you win. Now take a hat." She reached into her overalls pocket and brought out 6 hats. She then walked around, placing a hat on everyone's head, jumping a little to put mine on my head.

"This is a dumb question, but how do they all fit in there?" I stared at it, bewildered.

"The world may never know." Then she pointed to my hat.

"Okay, now tap it." I tapped mine and it lit up the dark tunnel we were in. One by one, everyone's hat lit up, making the dim tunnel slightly more cheerful, if revealing hordes of Geodude and Onix was cheerful. Personally, they creeped me out, but hey. Every person has their own thing they like. I looked over my shoulder; some miner looked pretty happy surrounded by an Onix.

I skipped around the group and made my way over to Platinum, who looked seriously upset about the museum. She was the only person who refused her hat. It seemed like she had perfect night vision or something like that.

"Oh, hey, Red. It's pretty…" She searched for the right word. "…creepy, huh?"

I nodded. "Sure is." I couldn't quite explain it, but Platinum made me feel all happy inside, nothing special…just Platinum being around.

A cry echoed throughout the darkness. "Rhyperior!" Viv cried.

She ran ahead, flying past me and Platinum quicker than Leaf ever could. Seeing as Leaf was one of the quickest people in our little 'travel gang', this was quite a feat.

We darted after her. Knowing Viv, she could unknowingly get herself into trouble.

We paused. A Rhyperior was trapped under a heap of rocks. It looked exhausted, as if it had fought a hard battle against the wall of rocks encasing it, and had nearly fainted. Viv was standing over it, lifting the rocks away one by one, but it looked like she needed help.

"Venusaur, come on out." If I could count on anything, it was Venusaur's vines' strength.

Venusaur lifted the rocks up hurriedly, piling them into a dark corner. The wall of rocks shifted and some more rocks came tumbling down, halting our progress.

Soon everyone had released their Pokemon, all of which were helping Viv and Venusaur. She worked the most; obviously she cared about this Rhyperior a lot.

The rock pile trapping Rhyperior slowly sank until all that remained were little pebbles too small to kick around. The rocks that were trapping him were piled into a corner; Leaf was sitting on top of it and chucking rocks at our heads. It was all in good fun, of course. I was used to her love-hate relationship with Blue and me.

"Oh…oh no…" Viv muttered. "I think I might be able to heal you…"

I waved at everyone to clear out. We all shuffled away silently, letting Viv do her stuff…or to the best of her ability, anyway.

Rhyperior roared and the ground started to shake. He had regained his strength.

Viv walked around the corner, looking triumphant. "Now let's find that Gym leader!"

_After much aimless wandering and arguing…_

"Is that the guy?" Leaf tiredly pointed to someone.

The boy looked over at us. "Oh. You don't look like miners."

Leaf crossed her arms and stared at him dead in the eye. "No kidding, genius. Do I want to even be in this dark pit of nothingness full of rocks and looming doom ever eminent? No. Not a bit."

The boy gave her a dirty look but turned around. "I assume you want a Gym battle."

"You're the Leader?" Leaf sounded surprised.

He looked down. "Yeah. I thought you were looking for a fight…so here comes one. Cranidos, I choose you!"

Cranidos kicked the ground, but Leaf just snorted. "A rock type? What an easy victory. Blastoise! You're up! Now use Hydro Cannon!"

Blastoise gathered all his energy and launched an enormous jet of water headed for the Cranidos, but it dodged the attack by skirting around it. It was faster than it looked. "Great job, Cranidos, now use Headbutt!" The leader egged his Cranidos on.

The Cranidos stomped the ground and ran at full speed at Blastoise. Blastoise stood erect, daring the Cranidos. Cranidos's Headbutt attack rattled throughout Blastoise's shell, but in the end Cranidos looked more shaken, having sustained damage from the Headbutt ringing against Blastoise's tough shell.

"Now use Hydro Pump!" Leaf ordered Blastoise.

Blastoise opened his mouth and let loose a huge jet of water that sent the Cranidos flying, still shaken from his backfired Headbutt.

"Oh no! Cranidos!" The Gym leader called Cranidos back to it's Pokeball. "Nice try, but here comes Geodude!"

Leaf smirked. "Like taking candy from a baby. Blastoise, use Dive!"

Blastoise dove into the ground, hidden from Geodude's sight. I was a bit shocked at first, seeing as how he had dived into the ground, then remembered: Leaf's Blastoise could dig fairly well, too. The ground shook as Blastoise summoned all of his power. Geodude looked around warily, but was caught off guard when Blastoise erupted from the ground and smacked it with pressurized water from underneath Geodude. Geodude fainted instantly.

I felt sorry for the Gym leader, who looked seriously ticked off, with a small vein pulsing in his forehead. I scratched my head. Wasn't this guy-who was a little younger than me, at 16-a bit too young to have a tic like that?

"Grrr…Onix, do your stuff!" He growled, clutching a fist and staring murderously at Leaf, who smirked with confidence.

"Use Aqua Tail, Blastoise!" Blastoise's tail transformed into pure water and he smashed it against Onix who blocked Blastoise with his tail. Blastoise used one of his most dependent attacks-Skull Bash. Temporarily he curled into a tight ball and smashed right into Onix, then brought out his tail-which was still in it's aquatic form-and slammed it into Onix, sending it against the shaky rock walls of the mine. Onix fainted like Geodude and Cranidos had before him.

"F-fine…here's your badge…" The Gym leader reluctantly handed her a shiny badge. Leaf grinned and dropped it in her Kanto and Johto badge case.

In the heat of the battle I had almost forgot about Blue's and my Gym battle. "Hey! We want to battle too!" I told him.

His eye twitched. "You know what? Here." He threw two new badges at me. I handed one to Blue and pinned mine to the inside of my jacket, along with the other badges from other regions. I was surprised, at first, but shrugged my shoulders. A free badge is better than no badge.

In fact, he looked like this happened all the time. I turned from his unsettling gaze and fingered the badge, smooth and shiny. I felt around for my old Kanto and Johto badges; they were nicked with scratches and ridged in some places due to falling or hitting something.

"Hey! Where's mine?" Platinum asked.

"Oh! Hey, yeah. Uh…" I looked at him questioningly.

"Roark." He muttered irritably.

"Yeah…can we have another badge?" I asked him.

He exhaled angrily. "HERE." Then he tossed one at Platinum, who pinned it to her scarf. Platinum was exuberant when she joined us again.

She noticed me examining my battered badges that lined my jacket. "Wow, Red…so you have 17 badges now, and an undeniable 7 more to go…that-that's 24 badges! And I'm sure you'll get more…"

Embarrassed, I shook my head. "These badges are so old and battered, I might have to just get replacements. Sure, they're great mementos, but…after a while, they lose their shiny glow and simply become houses for dust, dirt and other debris. It's the thrill of a battle that I crave."

Leaf tutted. "I believe I was the only one who actually battled here, Red." She placed her hand on my shoulder like the bossy, overprotective older sister she always was. In a sense, we were family, Blue, Leaf and I.

"Well I think it's great and all that you got your first Sinnoh badge, but does anyone remember how to get out of here?" Viv asked, clearly worried.

"I thought you would remember…" Leaf nervously told Viv.

"Hey, relax! I remember everything perfectly!" Platinum reassured the group.

We followed her lead, and the dying light at the end of the shaft we were in welcomed us. We all ran ahead, trying to get outside.

We made it outside, thanks to Platinum and her super brain. "After that, I suppose the museum can wait…why don't we just look for a way out of here?"

"Good idea." I agreed.

We walked around aimlessly, searching for the exit, until we saw a sandy slope leading to a town.

"Hey, Red, give me a boost, okay?" Leaf asked, clawing at the slope. Viv just went to the side of the slope and dug her feet into the rocky wall, climbing up in a matter of seconds.

"How about a lift?" Viv offered her hand and Leaf accepted it, pulling her up. She did the same to all of us.

We stood up, and Viv hopped into the nearest tree. "Hmm…looks like a well-traversed road…this way!" She pointed into the distance. We jogged underneath her as she hopped from tree to tree.

It was an oddly quiet, calm trip, save for Leaf and Blue's constant arguing. For what, I had no idea, but lately they were starting to do it more and more often. I couldn't be sure if it was stress, as Sinnoh was a fairly calm region, compared to Team Rocket

We finally ended up at a well-worn path in a field of flowers. Actually, it looked like a town, surrounded by flowers. Viv jumped from the tree and started making snow angels in the flowers. "So…nice…" I heard her whisper to herself.

Platinum walked over to a wooden sign stuck in the ground and read the writing etched carefully on it out loud. "Floaroma Town…Floaroma Town is a town in the region of Sinnoh, known for its honey and vividly scented flowers that grow everywhere. It was once a barren and desolate hill. People started planting flowers around it to cheer up the place, but nothing would grow. Then, someone expressed thanks for a blessing of nature, and the whole hill burst into bloom. It is theorized that Shaymin was the cause of the sudden burst of flowers, given it being the Gratitude Pokémon, and its ability to 'instantly transform ruined land into a lush field of flowers,' according to its Pokedex entry. Sounds neat."

The town was covered in flowers. Field upon field of flowers. Actually, the colors were a little overwhelming. I walked over to the sign and sat down, leaning against it.

"Smells…perfumey." Blue observed.

"Yeah, it does…and it smells like honey, a bit…" Leaf agreed.

Viv jumped up. "I smell berry!"

We watched as she stuck her nose in the air and reached out, grabbing ahold of a peck of Pecha berries. Then she popped them in her mouth one by one, some of the juice running down her chin.

I didn't realize how hungry I was until my mouth started watering at the sight of the little thin skins of the Pecha berries bursting open in Viv's mouth.

I ran over and sat next to her, picking the Pecha berries off the bush and throwing them in my mouth. Then everyone else sat down and vigorously stuffed their faces full.

Dusk was falling. I wiped my mouth on my arm, the sticky-sweet juice annoying me. "Where to next?" I asked them.

Leaf and Platinum were still eating, but Viv looked re-energized and ready to go.

"Oh, hey! Look! Blue berries!" Blue laughed at his own joke and picked one off. "Mm…minty…with some sweetness…salt…and a small, but good bitter aftertaste." Blue judged after popping one in his mouth.

Platinum ran over and grabbed a handful. "Yache berries…yum!"

"Hey Viv, want some?" Leaf asked, her mouth full of the tough skins of the berries.

Viv looked uncomfortable. "Um…no…"

Leaf hopped up. "Aw, come on!" She shoved a berry in Viv's mouth.

Viv promptly spit it out and she started to turn red. "See, I'm allergic to Yache berries. Thankfully, not very much. As you can see I look like I just munched on the insanely spicy Figy berry…but it's not recommended for me, so I tend to stray away…" She explained.

Leaf lowered her hand. "Oh, okay. Sorry about that."

Viv waved her apology away. "It's fine, I should have told you." Now she was incredibly red, like fire red.

"Urp…I feel a bit woozy, guys…hey Red, move please? Don't worry, it's the…effect…of the…allergy…" Viv faltered, and laid down on the Pecha berry bush, sniffing them. I felt bad, but really there was nothing we could do.

"Hey, what's going on?" Platinum pointed to a little break in the trees surrounding the town. We-meaning Platinum, Blue, Leaf, and me-creeped closer to it. Two people…wearing spacesuits…that Team Galactic!

"Hey!" Leaf yelled, jumping out and pointing at them.

"Eh? Oh. Those kids. What should we do?" One of them asked, a short, round woman, who was barely acknowledging our presence.

"Ah, the boss said they were a 'minimal threat', so we shouldn't be worried, but let's retreat just to be safe." The other one, the taller, skinnier one, assured. A minimal threat? Ha. Wait until they see us going.

"Okay." Round Girl waddled into the forest, with Tall Girl kicking at her heels.

Leaf's eyes flared with anger. "Did they just call me a minimal threat? I beg to differ…" She clenched her fists so tight the Yache berry splattered across her palm and the cap on her water bottle skyrocketed into the heavens. And this was her heavy-duty traveling water bottle.

Blue looked not so worried, but still mildly annoyed. Platinum was the same. I felt angry, but not nearly as angry as Leaf, who was turning as red as Viv was.

"Red?" Platinum put her hand on my shoulder. I turned so she wouldn't see my blush.

"Yeah?" I turned around and looked at her. She smiled brightly.

"Are you okay? I know about the whole Team Rocket thing…"

"Oh, I'm fine…"

"Well, that's good."

Platinum…was strange. She would talk to you, then just bluntly drop the conversation. And she would act one way, then be a totally different person five minutes later.

"Just keep liking me. Just the way I'm not." I muttered, too quietly for anyone but me to hear.

Viv's POV

"Uh…" I muttered as I rolled over, my overalls plastered with Pecha berry juice. I sat up and brushed the hair out of my eyes, re-adjusting my headband. I pulled my sleeves down and frowned; it was getting dark and the group was still out.

I pushed myself up, and started walking around aimlessly. The flowers were pretty, but I was getting sick of them. I would rather stick to trees.

Sceptile nudged my arm and pointed to a rather small and unassuming metal building. I followed the dirt path leading to it; stopping to munch on Chesto berries. I was starting to worry about everyone; what happened to them? Last I saw of them, they had wandered off…

"Huh? Why is there a key here?" I stooped over to pick up the small, silver key laying in the middle of the road, then ran to the building and tried the lock. It slid in easily and the door swung open without a sound. A small sign hung against one wall; according to it I was in the Valley Windworks.

I peeked around the corner; someone was asleep. It looked to be one of those Team Galactic grunts. I snorted and darted past him.

The rest was easily navigated. I was rewarded after my journey with a woman waiting for me.

"So you want a battle, eh? You're the little snot who's been causing us so much trouble…I'll make you pay! Go, Purugly!"

"No…I dislike battling…" I told her, starting to back away.

"You will battle me. If I win, you leave. If you win, Team Galactic leaves! Now pick your Pokemon!" It was obvious she was getting impatient, but I wanted to toy with her a bit longer.

"Nah…"

"Then the Pokemon you are going to battle with is…" She examined them closely. "Quite a nice arsenal, but you will battle with this…Dusknoir."

Sceptile nudged me. _Another time, okay? _I told him. This lady wasn't giving me much of a choice.

I sighed heavily. "Dusknoir, I know you dislike battling…but you need to do this just one time, okay? Now I need you to combine Shadow Ball and Dark Pulse." I told him. He looked unhappy but nodded.

He summoned a ball made of pure shadow, and sent it flying at the Purugly with Dark Pulse. The Purugly staggered, but refused to faint. It looked towards its trainer, waiting for orders.

"Okay Purugly, use Bite!" Purugly jumped into the air and latched onto Dusknoir. He cringed, but with each passing second it started to have more of an effect on him.

"Dusknoir!" I cried out. He was ghost-type, so dark-type moves would be super-effective on him!

"Don't let go of it, Purugly, hang on and use Iron Tail!" Purugly's tail transformed into hard iron and began beating Dusknoir with it. He shuddered, ripped Purugly off, and threw it in the air, then blasted it into the ceiling with a Dark Pulse. The Purugly went flying back to the ground, hard.

"Purugly?"

"Dusknoir?"

They both looked close to fainting. Now it was just up to chance to see who would faint first.

I had a good idea who.

Purugly staggered, and fell over, but she jumped right back up and snarled at Dusknoir. Dusknoir shifted from left to right and looked about ready to fall over any minute.

"Hang on!" I told him.

A shadow passed overhead and landed behind Purugly. Suddenly, hundreds of roots sprouted out of the ground and enveloped Purugly, smashing into it and squeezing it. Sceptile looked up at me when the Purugly dropped down to the ground, unable to battle. I knew it was considered cheating, but really, I couldn't stop him. Once Sceptile made his mind up there was no going back.

It was a good thing Sceptile had interfered like that; Dusknoir fainted a couple of seconds later. I revived him and looked at the woman.

"I underestimated you. As I said, we will leave…but we were finished anyway, you uppity brat. We have all the power we need." She left and several people followed her.

I left after a while; only to return to the campsite where we were stationed, which was the patch full of berries. It was a pity that they didn't see me battle; I knew they wanted to. Although I was glad. They would begin to expect me to battle.

It was darker out now and they still weren't here. I jumped up and walked to the forest. Maybe they were stuck in there?

I pushed through the last bush and sniffed the air. "Mmm…honey."

It was delicious smelling. I walked over to a tree and placed my finger on the bark, which was slathered in honey, then wiped some off and popped it in my mouth. "Delicious…can't say when I last had some."

"HEY! What do you think you're doing?"

I jumped a little, then sprang to the top of the tree out of impulse. A kid about my age stared up at me.

"Nervous much?" He snorted at his own joke and crossed his arms. "What do you think you're doing to my honey tree? I already found four others!"

"Four others?" I mumbled. I counted in my head. Red, Blue, Leaf, and Platinum…"Two boys, two girls?"

"Yeah…they all had one badge…"

I couldn't think of anything else to do, as the boy didn't look exactly friendly or helpful. "Dusknoir, Hypnosis."

"What?!" The boy looked at Dusknoir, who sent a beam of hypnotic suggestion aimed to his face. When it hit, he crumpled to the ground, sound asleep.

"Come on, it won't be long before he wakes up…" I launched from the tip of the tree to the next, honey sticking to my hands. I landed on the top of the only house in the area, where I could only assume that everyone was in there, and slid through the chimney, covered in soot.

"Ack…is anyone here?" I asked loudly, coughing on the dust and brushing it out of my eyes.

"Viv? Hey, Viv!" Blue called. Platinum was sleeping on the floor, Red was sitting down and Leaf was kicking at the door furiously.

"Oh, hey guys…what happened? You were gone for hours?"

Red looked up. "That guy out there accused us of stealing honey, locked us in here and said until we had proof of our innocence, we were staying here. He was annoying, but he wouldn't let us get out of this forest, so we just ran in here."

"HE IS GOING TO PAY!" Leaf shrieked angrily, her voice rising more so than usual.

I walked over to Platinum, took out one of her bobby pins, and went over to the door. I stuck it in the keyhole and jiggled it around until the door slowly opened.

"Hey, wow, Viv, I didn't know you could pick locks!" Blue commented, impressed.

I looked down. "It's just something I picked up."

Leaf looked over at me, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Where is he…"

I stepped out of the way as she sped past me, her purse whacking me in the stomach.

"Well that hurt…" I muttered.

"I don't know about you, but I'm kind of done with this town…I say once Leaf is beating the sense out of the boy who locked us in here, we should leave and head for the Eterna Forest." Red told us as he lifted up Platinum, who looked like she was smiling slightly. I noticed the beginnings of a smile playing at the edge of his lips, but he was hiding it well. I had begun to notice that apparently it was custom for Leaf to do the dirty work while Red and Blue did the thinking.

"I'm okay with that." Blue agreed.

"AND THIS IS WHAT I CALL REVENGE!" Leaf shouted, sitting on the boy and furiously beating on him.

We quietly exited. Leaf came out a few minutes later. "I think he's alive…at least, I hope…"

We ran out of the town quietly, running past the wordy town sign and dodging trainers on our way to Eterna Forest.

Suddenly a trainer looked at me. "I like shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear!"

"What?" I asked, puzzled.

"He's a youngster. Just humor him with a battle, and try not to crush his dreams." Red whispered hopefully, just out of earshot of the Youngster.

"But…I don't like battling…" I faltered.

Metagross was the most brave, offering to fight. "I…um…"

"Just battle him!" Leaf muttered impatiently.

"Fine. Metagross, Doom Desire." Metagross summoned a ball of pure steel energy and it disappeared into the night sky. The Youngster chucked out a Pokeball, and a Starly came charging out of it. The Youngster didn't look the least bit fazed when he saw my Metagross. He was a brave kid, I'll give him that.

"Okay Starly! Use your Peck attack!" Starly charged at Metagross, but because of his incredible defense, it did nothing at all.

Because the Doom Desire attack was still charging, Metagross suffered through two more Peck attacks.

And then the attack hit; a blinding flash of pure energy erupted from the sky and hit Starly, who fainted on the spot.

"Uh…oh no…" The youngster muttered. "G-good battle…"

"Well, I thought you were really good, too!" I told him, taking Red's advice.

"Really? Thanks!" The youngster beamed at me and left.

We walked forward quietly, coming at the Eterna Forest gate and stopping for a rest. "Hey, Viv, wasn't Doom Desire a Jirachi-only attack?" Platinum asked.

I nodded. "Jirachi granted some of it's most powerful attacks to Metagross, both of them being steel-types. So he received Jirachi's signature move, Doom Desire."

"Okay, so that explains it…" Platinum nodded.

"Viv, you are a really great battler…you should try the Sinnoh league!" Blue added enthusiastically.

"No…I don't like to battle, and neither do my Pokemon! Granted, they're powerful, but…battling brings up bad memories…a lot of them had a lot of accidents…or were severely hurt due to battling…"

"Well, it was worth a shot…" Blue muttered, turning around and facing his open backpack, which was stuffed full of Chesto berry sandwiches. I watched as he shoved sandwich after sandwich into his mouth and I looked into my own backpack. I carefully lifted a Pecha berry sandwich and munched on it quietly, avoiding everyone's stares.

A small girl pointed at me and giggled. "She's silly, mommy!"

The mom shushed her. "She's a trainer, sweetie. Now let her eat in peace."

The girl shook her head. "Then why are her Pokemon outside their Pokeballs?"

"Well, maybe she just brought them out for a quick snack."

"Okay, mommy. I still think she's silly."

"Most trainers are."

I gripped the Pecha berry a little too hard out of anger and some of the berry jam I had made earlier shot out and splattered my chest. I wiped it off angrily and looked over at the group; they were chatting together aimlessly.

I stuffed the sandwich into my backpack and stood up, heading for the exit. I was going to continue my normal journey; maybe to other regions less traveled to, like Almia or Ransei.

I walked past the group, who looked at me questioningly but didn't stop me. "I guess we'll see you in Eterna Forest, then?" Leaf asked hopefully.

I smiled to myself and looked ahead. "Okay."

The forest was dense and dark and surrounded by trees, crag, and dirt. Perfect. I breathed in the cool night air, savoring the sweetness of truly wild and uninhabited. I sprang up and, out of impulse, began swinging through the trees.

"This is so nice…" I muttered as I relaxed into the tree, Sceptile laying down next to me. The others were spread throughout the tree, relaxing quietly. Abomasnow snored lightly.

I hugged Sceptile. "Thanks for saving Dusknoir back there. We would have lost if you hadn't." I told him. He nodded. "_They're all my friends. I have a question, Vivienne: Why did you leave everyone back there?"_

"I…I just wanted some alone time to think." I answered.

"_I was wondering the same thing, Vivienne." _Metagross asked, not quite asleep.

I just wanted a break from everyone! Is that so much to ask?"

_I think you like Blue". _Dusknoir joined in on the conversation, completely changing the subject.

"I do not!" I shouted like a little kid, my ears turning red with embarrassment.

"_Yes you do, Vivienne, I can feel it. _Sceptile smirked.

"Fine…maybe a little…" I admitted, elbowing him.

"_Ha…well, goodnight, Vivienne." _Sceptile nodded and closed his eyes, sleeping against my chest, near my heartbeat.

"_Night, Vivienne". _Metagross fell asleep after that.

"_Goodnight…I hope you have pleasant dreams…I sense a presence of pure shadow…I should know…it's close to here, too, and it is the embodiment of darkness…"_ Dusknoir warned me. I raised an eyebrow, but it was normal for Dusknoir to say something like that, just to warn me.

"Goodnight, everyone…" I reluctantly fell asleep, unwilling to do so due to Dusknoir's warning.

Darkrai's POV

I flew through the darkness. Enough people were already seeing nightmares, Dusknoir had the common courtesy to warn his human companion about me and my 'ability'. Arceus, it was horrible to force nightmares into the minds of innocent people, but I never meant any harm…

Why was it me that Arceus cursed? Why not my sister Cresselia? Or someone else, someone more bitter and secluded, like Heatran?

I just wanted to take a midnight run, but no, because Arceus was apparently not thinking that day he created us, that was impossible without using my 'ability'. I had talked to him, he said my purpose was coming soon…but I really think he just wanted to get rid of me, with his ongoing rivalry with Giratina…

I shook my head and burst ahead at full speed, looking down at the dark forest for the Old Chateau, where people understood me…although I wasn't sure they were 'people'.

_Is that the human the Dusknoir warned?_ I stopped abruptly and slowly drifted down until I was level with the branch she was leaning on.

I knew if I stopped too long she would be trapped in a nightmare until I permitted it's ending; however there was no thrashing, screaming, or anything from her. I poked her stomach. She waved her hand and turned around.

I flew to the other side and looked at her, confused. When were the nightmares going to start?

_Hmm…_

I lowered my arm and stared at her, trying to induce nightmares. I knew it was against my morals, but I wanted to see if…

_Come on! Am I losing it?_

I shook her rapidly. _Where are the nightmares?_

I looked at her and went into her mind; nothing but normal sleep patterns.

"**Darkrai, she's not having nightmares because she's been gifted by many legendaries. No one's power is that immense, even Arceus's."**

"_Cresselia? I thought you were sleeping…"_

"**I do not sleep. I suggest you stop trying, lest someone follow you."**

"_I never thought of that…"_

"**And I advise you to stay on your island…Arceus is angry…"**

"_Arceus? Him? Yes, like he cares about me. Heatran shows more compassion to me than Arceus, and Heatran is bitter and mean."_

"**Hmph. I still think you should return…and I spoke with Giratina today."**

"_How is he?"_

"**Troubled. And angry. He saw the future; a man will call forth Palkia and Dialga, forcing Giratina out as part of his bond with the two. He is preparing for the worst…"**

"_Palkia and Dialga? The two that were always fighting so much until Arceus granted them their own separate dimensions?"_

"**Yes…and Shaymin saw, too. She is helping him any way she can…"**

"_I remember Shaymin…she was always so cute, but annoying and had such a big ego…"_

"**This disturbance has aroused other Legendary Pokemon, brother. I have seen Suicune running across the waters."**

"_Suicune? Isn't he from Johto?"_

"**Yes. Zekrom and Reshiram were seen here, too. That is quite puzzling…they seem to have made a pact to not argue…I must say, I believe if you spread the word, we would have enough forces on our hand to prevent this disaster."**

"_Zekrom? Oh, you mean the two turbo-butts…ha. Yes. I will travel…"_

"**Excellent. I can grant you some of my healing power, if you like. It will make it easier on your journey, however I will not be able to contact you…"**

"_That's fine. I must leave now…"_

"**Giratina wants you to go to Kanto and arouse Zapdos, Articuno, Moltres, Mew, and Mewtwo, of course. I warn you: the first are agreeable, but Mewtwo is…something else. Be careful around him."**

"_Thank you."_

I spiraled upwards into the clouds, free of my burden. Now Heatran had nothing to pick on me about.

-MORE later-

Platinum's POV

"I thought Viv was going to meet us here?" Leaf asked, looking around.

"She…she was…" I faltered, nervously looking about the trees. Then I spotted her laying down on a tree branch. It was still dark out, so I tripped over a root, but I got up quickly and lifted myself onto the branch.

"Viv? Are…are you okay?" I asked, shaking her gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She cracked open an eye and nodded, then went back to sleep.

I reached into my backpack and brought out the tent; unfolding it underneath the tree. "Let's sleep right here, okay?"

Red nodded. "Fine with me. Eterna City is the next city northwest of here…I say we should get all the sleep we can get. It's pretty big."

Leaf propped her backpack against the tree, leaned against it, and folded her hands on her stomach, falling asleep like that. I shook my head.

"Well, I'm tired, so good night guys!" I waved and zipped up the tent.

After a while, I sat up straight, unzipped the tent, and looked outside. It was pitch black, the Kricketots were chirping, and it was really relaxing, but…something was missing.

"Hey…where did Viv go?"

**A/N: OH MY GOD I am so sorry for the wait…I revised it so much it isn't even funny. Anyway, hope you like, all that stuff, and I'll see everyone soon when I write my next chapter (Well, figuratively; some people just like to be jerks and say, 'You'll see us?' So that term is used loosely.)**


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